People v. Jones

175 Misc. 2d 828, 670 N.Y.S.2d 712, 1998 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 50
CourtNew York County Courts
DecidedFebruary 4, 1998
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 175 Misc. 2d 828 (People v. Jones) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York County Courts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Jones, 175 Misc. 2d 828, 670 N.Y.S.2d 712, 1998 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 50 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1998).

Opinion

[829]*829OPINION OF THE COURT

Patrick J. McGrath, J.

The above-named, defendant stands charged with the crime of burglary in the second degree, in violation of section 140.25 (2) of the Penal Law. The defendant filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to CPL 30.20 and 30.30.

The parties do not contest any factual issues, only the legal conclusions to be drawn therefrom. The facts show that on October 22, 1996, a felony complaint was filed with the local criminal court and an arrest warrant was obtained for the defendant based upon the charge of burglary in the third degree. The felony complaint alleged that the burglary occurred at 301 Oakwood Avenue, Troy, New York, the residence of Richard W. LaPoint between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on September 9, 1996. The defendant was arrested on October 23, 1996, and arraigned the following day, October 24th, in local criminal court on the felony complaint. On November 27, 1996, the defendant was indicted by the Grand Jury of Rensselaer County for one count of burglary in the second degree. The indictment alleged that the burglary occurred on October 9,

1996, at approximately 10:57 p.m. at the Shop-n-Save Plaza on Columbia Turnpike, in the Town of East Greenbush. The indictment further alleged that the defendant did knowingly enter and remain unlawfully in the dwelling of one Richard W. LaPoint with intent to commit a crime therein. Defendant was arraigned on the indictment in Rensselaer County Court on December 6, 1996, at which time the People filed a written notice of readiness for trial and served a copy upon the defendant and his defense attorney at the time, the Rensselaer County Public Defender’s Office.

Also, on December 6, 1996, after the defendant’s arraignment on the indictment, the People filed a written motion to amend the indictment pursuant to CPL 200.70 to correctly reflect the time, date, and place of the offense as reflected in the Grand Jury minutes. The defendant did not oppose the motion to amend and the court, after reviewing the Grand Jury minutes, granted the motion by decision dated February 6, 1997.

On the date of the arraignment, December 6, 1996, the defense filed a demand for discovery and bill of particulars. On December 16, 1996, the People filed a response to defendant’s demand for discovery and bill of particulars with the court and the defendant. The cover letter filed with the People’s response [830]*830indicated “The People remain ready for trial”. All attachments to the People’s response set forth the correct date, time, and place of the burglary as originally contained in the felony complaint in local criminal court: burglary affidavit of Richard W. LaPoint; Troy Police Department evidence/property report; Troy Police Department incident report signed by Richard W. LaPoint; a copy of a deposition from the Evidence Technician Officer Scorzone dated October 22, 1996; and a copy of the original felony complaint filed in local criminal court.

The defendant filed an omnibus motion on January 24, 1997, and the People filed an affirmation in opposition thereto on February 21, 1997. The cover letter attached to the People’s affirmation in opposition which was filed with the court and upon the defendant indicated “The People remain ready for trial”.

The defendant’s argument is basically twofold. First, the defendant argues that the People’s notice of readiness declared and filed on the date of the arraignment, December 6, 1996, was illusory and insufficient to satisfy the requirements of CPL 30.30 because of the subsequent motion to amend. Secondly, after the indictment was amended, the defendant argues that any indication of readiness by the People was not properly and sufficiently communicated, and also, that the defendant should have been rearraigned on the amended indictment at which time the People should have redeclared their notice of readiness for trial.

Defendant concedes that certain time periods are excludible pursuant to CPL 30.30 (4) (a) while pretrial motions were pending before the court, specifically, the time period from December 6, 1996 until March 6, 1997, a period of 90 days.

For purposes of CPL 30.30, the time period begins to run the day after the criminal action was commenced, October 23, 1996 (People v Stiles, 70 NY2d 765) and the time period is measured by calendar months (People v Cortes, 80 NY2d 201). Accordingly, the People had to announce their readiness in connection with this case on or before July 22, 1997 (the six-month period from commencement of the action together with the 90 days excludible time).

An effective indication of readiness for trial requires two necessary elements. First, there must be a communication of readiness by the People which appears on the trial court’s record; this requires either a statement of readiness by the prosecutor in open court, transcribed by a stenographer, or recorded by the clerk of a written notice of readiness sent by the prosecutor to both defense counsel and the appropriate court clerk, to be [831]*831placed in the original record. Second, the prosecutor must make the statement of readiness when the People are in fact ready to proceed (People v Kendzia, 64 NY2d 331). A written statement of readiness mailed to defense counsel and directly to the County Court unquestionably satisfies the objectives underlying the requirement of informing the court that the People are ready to proceed and objectively establishes the date on which such readiness occurred (People v Sutton, 199 AD2d 878, 880, citing People v Smith, 82 NY2d 676, 678).

Turning to the defendant’s first argument, the test for determining the validity of the People’s notice of readiness for trial is whether the People are presently able to present their case for trial and not a prediction or expectation of future readiness (People v Kendzia, supra, at 337). The statement must be made in good faith and reflect an actual, present state of readiness (People v Tavarez, 147 AD2d 355, 356). While subsequent requests for adjournments may indicate a lack of readiness at that time, they do not necessarily invalidate an earlier otherwise proper statement of readiness (People v Anderson, 66 NY2d 529). It is only failures on the part of the People that present a direct, and virtually insurmountable, impediment to the trial’s very commencement that will be a basis for dismissal pursuant to CPL 30.30 (People v McKenna, 76 NY2d 59, 64). In McKenna, the People’s failure to provide Grand Jury minutes for the court’s review was an absolute impediment to the trial’s very commencement, and since there were no alternative remedies set forth in the statute, dismissal was required pursuant to CPL 30.30. However, where there are alternative sanctions or remedies that are specifically provided by the statute, there is no inherent power to dismiss pursuant to CPL 30.30 (People v McKenna, supra, at 61; People v Anderson, supra, at 537; People v Douglass, 60 NY2d 194; People v Howard, 235 AD2d 232, lv denied 89 NY2d 1036 [where the Court held that the People’s notice of readiness for trial was not illusory even though they subsequently filed a motion to consolidate]).

In view of the above, the defendant’s first argument must fail. The People’s notice of readiness filed prior to their motion to amend the indictment on December 6, 1996 was legally valid and sufficient to satisfy the requirements of CPL 30.30.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
175 Misc. 2d 828, 670 N.Y.S.2d 712, 1998 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 50, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-jones-nycountyct-1998.